Earl’s Son Cleared of Rape of 16-Year-Old Girl

James Murray, who was raised in Scone Palace, has been cleared of raping a 16-year-old girl.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk

The son of the Earl of Mansfield has been cleared of the rape of a 16-year-old girl.

The girl accused James Murray, 42, of spiking her drink, before she woke with her tracksuit trousers pulled down and Murray lying alongside her naked.

He admitted having a sexual relationship with the girl, which he insisted was consensual, over a period of less than two weeks.

Apologetic test messages from Murray to the girl were read out to Oxford crown court. He said sorry 21 times.

Condoms containing her DNA were found in Murray's bin, but defence barrister Nicholas Syfret QC argued that the fact that they were positioned at different depths in the bin suggested that the pair had sex over a period of several days.

Murray befriended the girl and her friends, often giving them cigarettes and allowing then into his flat to play computer games and watch television.

When asked if he was grooming the girl, Murray replied: "I thought she was grooming me."

He claimed she was "expecting" him to make sexual advances on her, although he admitted that she was not "enthusiastic".

He said that she only accused him of rape when he pressurised her to take the morning-after pill when a condom split.